Envelope construction



c. B. LINDEKE 2,894,676

ENVELOPE CONSTRUCTION July 14, 1959 Filed Aug. 20, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

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' (ii 4 MW 9rraeuzz United States Patent 9 2,894,676 ENVELOPE CONSTRUCTION Charles Bruce Lindeke, Glendale, Calif., assignor of onehalf to Charles Alpin Bowes, Pasadena, Calif.

Application August 20, 1956, Serial No. 605,050 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-73) This invention relates to two-way or return envelopes for use by addressees in replying to the addressors.

It is an object of this invention to provide a two-way or return envelope, such as described, which is an improvement in this field in consideration of its simplicity of construction, ease of manufacture, use of a comparatively small amount of paper, provision of adequate message areas, and the simplicity and ease of manipulation thereof in its use by the original addressor and addressee.

It is another object of this invention to provide an envelope of the character described having a novel means for sealing the closure flap by the original addressor, so that the pocket of the envelope' remains open.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an envelope of the character describedwhich corresponds to a conventional rectilinear envelope, except for the formation and arrangement of the closure flap and its relation to the body of the envelope. This closure flap is provided with a novel foldable and gummed sealing flap that is folded under the closure flap and thereby protected when mailing the envelope to the original addressee, but is used as a sealing medium when the envelope is returned to the addressor by the addressee.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an envelope such as described, in which the closure flap is provided with a foldable tear-off section or portion that may be used as a receipt or for message purposes and is arranged to be folded under the closure flap in a novel manner. 7 v

An additional object of this invention is the provision of a return or two-way envelope in which the sealing of the closure flap by the original addressor is effected through the use of gumrned name and address label appliedin a novel manner.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an envelope such as described in which the closure flap is joined along a fold line to the front wall of the envelope and is foldable to overlie and cover the major portion of either of these walls.

This invention possesses many other advantages and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a consideration of the embodiment of the invention. For this purpose there is shown one form in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. This form will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an envelope embodying the present invention as it would appear when ready for use by the original addressor;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing the envelope sealed and ready for mailing by the original addressor;

2,894,676 Patented July 14, 1959 ice 2 Fig. 4- is a sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 5 is 'Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the envelope as it would appear after having been opened by the original addressee in preparationfor re-use by the latter;

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of the envelope as shown in Fig, 6 as it would appear after the closure flap has been folded to overlie the rear wall of the envelope in preparation for mailing by the addressee;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8 -8 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of the envelope as it would appear when ready for mailing by the addressee.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, an envelope made in accordance with the present invention comprises an envelope body 1 of conventional form in that it has a front wall 2 and a rear wall 3 joined along three edges inthe customary manner, leaving the other corresponding edges open to form the pocket of the envelope. y

In accordance with this invention, an over-size closure flap 4 is joined along a fold line 5 to the front wall 2 so that it may be folded to lie over and cover the major portion of either wall ofthe envelope; such flap, as here shown, being substantially rectangular.

A foldable sealing flap 6 is provided along the free longitudinal edge of the closure flap 4, being joined to the closure flap by a fold line 7 so that it may be folded under the closure flap when the latter is brought to a position overlying the front wall 2 of the envelope. The marginal sealing flap 6 is gummed on one side thereof andthis gummed side is opposed to the front wall 2 but notadhered thereto when the sealing flap is folded under the closure flap 4.

If desired, the closure flap 4 may be provided at one end with a tear-off portion or section 8 joined to the flap by a line of weakness 9. The portion 8 may serve as-a receipt or'serve any other purpose as desired, and is subject to being torn off by the original addressee. It may be conveniently folded under the closure flap 4 in preparing the envelope for use by the original addressor.

a rear elevation of the envelope shown in It may be folded to lie under or over the sealing flap,

as well as under the closure flap 4. The dotted showing at 8' indicates optional increased length of the tear-off portion 8. I

The front wall 2 of the envelope is adapted to have the name and address of the original user or addressor, printed or written thereon as clearly shown at 10 in Figs. 1 and 9. Also appearing on the front wall 2 of the envelope is either a stamp ready for use, or a marking indicating where a stamp must be placed, as shown at 11 in Figs. 1 and 9. Obviously other indicia may be placed on the front wall 2, for example the usual Fromz designation, as at 12 in the upper left hand corner of the front wall. The outer face of the closure flap 4 may also be provided with the usual Fromz designation, as shown at 12.

The flap 4 may be used as a message area on either side thereof, for example as indicated by the dotted lines 13, in Fig. 1.

When the envelope is originally used, with the desired message printed, typed or otherwise applied thereto, the closure flap 4 is folded on the line 5 from position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to lie over the front wall 2 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thereby covering the name and address of the addressor and other indicia on the front wall. In folding the closure flap 4 in this manner, the gummed sealing flap 6 is folded under the closure flap 4 with the gummed side opposed to, but not adhered to the front wall 2. Additionally, during this folding, the tear-off r 35 portion 8 may be folded under the flap 4, preferably so as to lie between the flap 4 and the folded back sealing flap 6.

For the purpose of addressing the envelope to the original addressee and at the same time sealing the closure flap 4- to the front wall 2 without employing the sealing flap 6, a gummed narne and address label 14 is employed as shown in Fig. 2. This label is applied as a sticker to lie over the lower edge of the sealing flap 4 and against the front wall 2, as shown in Fig. 3. If desired, the label 14, as shown in Fig. 1, may be originally adhered to the closure flap 4 so that a portion of the label is disposed in a position to be adhered to the front Wall 2 when the flap 4- overlies the front wall.

With the envelope sealed by label 14, it is ready for mailing, it being noted that the pocket of the envelope is left open.

The addressee may open the envelope by tearing off the name and address label 14, or by lifting free the portion thereof adhering to the wall 2, and then lift the closure flap 4 as shown in Fig. 6.

When the addressee wishes to return the envelope to the addressor, a reply letter, a check or an enclosure, indicated at in Fig. 8, is placed within the envelope pocket when the envelope is in the condition shown in Fig. 6. The closure flap 4 is then folded to lie over the back wall 3 and close the pocket as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In this folding of the flap 4, the gummed sealing flap 6 is moved into the position such that when moistened it will seal the flap 4 to the rear wall 3. The address of the original addressor appearing on the front wall 2', is now uncovered as will be seen with reference to Fig. 9. When a stamp is placed on the flap 4 at the point designated 17, the envelope is ready for mailing back to the original addressor.

It should be noted with reference to Fig. 5, that when the portion of the label 14 adhered to the wall 2 is lifted free therefrom, the label or any portion thereof remaining adhered to the closure flap 4 will be covered and concealed when the flap 6 is sealed to the back of the envelope.

If the significance given to any indicia that may appear on the tear-off portion 8 is such that the return thereof to the original addressor is desired, the portion 8 readily may be folded under and concealed by the closure flap 4 when the latter is sealed to the back wall 3. On the other hand, if desired, the portion 8 may be torn free and placed in the envelope pocket when returning the envelope to the addressor.

I claim:

1. A two-way envelope comprising: an envelope body having a front wall and a rear wall joined to form therebetween a pocket that is open along one edge of the body; a closure flap joined to said front wall on a fold lines so that it may be folded to overlie either of said walls; said closure flap covering the major portion of either of said walls when folded thereover; a sealing flap joined to said closure flap on a fold line; said sealing flap being gummed on one side and foldable under said closure flap when the latter overlies said front wall; said sealing flap being operable to seal said closure flap to said rear wall when said closure flap overlies said rear wall; a tear-off portion joined by a line of weakness to a side edge of said closure flap and foldable to lie between said,

sealing flap and said closure flap; and a gummed label having a portion adhered to said'closure flap so that the remaining portion thereof extends over and beyond said fold line between said closure flap and said sealing flap to a position whereby it may be adhered to said front wall without extending past said joint of said walls; said label being covered and concealed by said flaps when said sealing flap is adhered to said rear wall.

2. A two-way envelope comprising: an envelope body having a front wall and a rear wall joined to form therebetween a pocket that is open along one edge of the body; a closure flap joined to said front wall on a fold line so that it may be folded to overlie either of said walls; a leaing flap joined to said closure flap on a fold line; said sealing flap being gummed on one side and foldable under said closure flap when the latter overlies said front walls; said sealing flap being operable to seal said closure flap to said rear wall when said closure flap overlies said rear walls; and a gummed label having a portion adhered to said closure flap so that the remaining portion thereof extends over and beyond said fold line between said closure flap and said sealing flap to a position whereby it may be adhered to said front wall without extending past said joint of said walls; said label being covered and concealed by said flaps when said sealing flap is adhered to said rear wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,043,243 Mitchell Nov. 5, 1912 1,045,836 Guina Dec. 3, 1912 1,201,419 Adams Oct. 17, 1916 1,780,136 Lee Oct. 28, 1930 1,990,760 Swift Feb. 12, 1935 2,129,705 Reineman Sept. 13, 1938 2,367,440 Schieman Jan. 16, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 412,683 Great Britain July 5, 1934 

